Partially refloating amphibious craft



May 12, 1970 KOJI ITO 3,511,207

PARTIALLY REFLOATING AMPHIBIOUS CRAFT Filed June 5, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR k0 J/ ITO ATTORNEYS May 12, 1970 KOJI ITO PARTIALLY REFLOATING AMPHIBIOUS CRAFT 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed June 5, 1968 INVENTOR I TO K JI BY vww g M ATTORNEYS United States Patent M 3,511,207 PARTIALLY REFLOATING AMPHIBIOUS CRAFT Koji Ito, Kikugawa-machi, Ogasa-gun, Japan, assignor to Nichiei Yoshida Co., Ltd., Shizuoka-ken, Japan, a corporation of Japan Filed June 5, 1968; Ser. No. 734,784 Claims priority, application Japan, Sept. 20, 1967, 42/599,885 Int. Cl. B63b J/38; B60f 3/00 U.S. Cl. 115-1 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An amphibious air filled small craft for sport or pleasure use which can be operated on land and water surfaces by maintaining the front of the craft in its floated state by means of air-injections while the rear part of the craft is driven on land, by a wheel, and on the water, by two impellers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present invention relates to a small craft for sport or pleasure use and more particularly to an amphibious small craft which can be operated in its partially floating state over land or water.

The craft of the present invention is directed to a small craft suitable for sport or pleasure use, which can be propelled by an engine-driven rotor for land based or water based operation while maintaining a part of the craft in its floating state above the land or water surface.

Description of the prior art A craft in which air injection pressure is utilized, has been known as a so-called Hovercraft. However, as the known craft is propelled, it is floated or supported on the water surface, as a whole, by an air cushion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The craft of the present invention consists in general of a frame-work for the craft, an upper airtight covering or casing for the framework which contains a drivers seat, a lower peripheral airtight covering connected to the upper covering and inflatable into an airfilled channel, and leaving a central bottom opening, an engine-driven blower or fan mounted on the front part of the frame-work which directs an air injection stream towards the central bottom opening. An engine-driven rotor is mounted on the rear part of the frame-work and includes a wheel and two impellers.

In operation, air from the blower fills the upper and lower coverings, the lower covering is inflated into a circumferential channel, with the front part of the craft being floated above water or land surface, while the rear part of the craft rides on the water or land surface, thereby the craft is driven on land by the wheel, or propelled on water by the impellers. By shifting the center of gravity of the craft to right or left, its driver or drivers can steer the craft to the right or left.

An object of the present invention is to provide an amphibious small craft for sport or pleasure use which can be driven interestingly on land or water.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an amphibious small craft which can be driven in the same manner either on land or water Without resorting to any change-over device when switching between landbased and water-based operation.

Still another object of the present invention may be to provide an amphibious small craft which is easier to 3,511,207 Patented May 12, 1970 operate than the previously mentioned Hovercraft and which can be built at lower cost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, the craft of the present invention comprises one or more pairs of parallel struts 2 extending longitudinally of the craft, a plurality of transverse struts 4 are connected to the struts 2 by welding, for example, a plurality of curved supporting struts 6 connected at their lower ends to the struts 2 and 4, and two horizontally spaced, outer and inner circumferential struts 8 and 8 connected to the struts 2 and 4. The struts 2, 4, 8 and 8 may be made of metal such as steel or aluminum, while the supporting struts 6 may be made of a synthetic resin such as vinyl resin. It can be seen that the struts 2-8 provide, in combination, a framework of approximately elliptical form in its plan view, and approximately hemispherical configuration in its side view.

The frame-work is covered by an upper covering 10 of an impermeable sheet made from vinyl resin, for exam ple, and having a substantial thickness and resiliency. This upper covering is connected along its lower edge to the outer strut 8 to form an air filled covering over the frame-work.

A lower covering 12 made of vinyl resin, for example, and having a substantial thickness and resiliency, is connected to the outer and inner struts 8, 8. The covering 12 which has a width larger than the horizontal spacing between the struts 8, 8', is connected in an air-tight manner to the lower edge of the upper covering 10 along the outer strut 8. It can be seen that a central bottom opening 14 remains within the coverings 10 and 12, and that the opening is delimited by the inner strut 8', to which the inner edge of the covering 12 is connected.

A drivers seat 16 is positioned on the upper covering 10.

In the front part of the upper covering, a blower or fan 18 and its driving engine 20 and accessories are mounted on the struts 2 and the blower is inclined with respect to the horizontal towards the central opening 14. In front of the blower, an air inlet opening 22 is formed in the covering 10 so that the blower can direct an air stream against the land or water surface through the central bottom opening 14.

In the rear part of the upper covering, a driving engine 24 and a propelling rotor 26 are positioned. The engine 24 is secured on the struts 2 and is connected to a supporting shaft 28 for the rotor through a coupling clutch 30, chain wheels 32, 32' and a chain block 34, while the rotor 26 comprises a central wheel 36 and two impellers 38, 38'. The supporting shaft 28 is held between the lower ends of a pair of holding arms 40, 40', the upper end of each arm is pivoted on an upstanding support 42, 42 secured on said struts 2. The holding arms are connected together at their intermediate ends by a connecting bar 44 on which is mounted an urging device 46. This device serves to urge the rotor 26 against the land or Water surface, and comprises a cylinder 48 secured to one of the struts 6, a piston 50 slidable in the cylinder and having its piston rod 52 pivoted on the bar 44, and a compression spring 54 urging the piston downwardly.

Upper covering has openings 56, 56 formed in its front part and rear part, respectively, which openings are closable by means of fastener 58, 58, respectively, and serve for inspecting, adjusting or repairing the blower 18, engine 20 or engine 24, rotor 26 and their associated parts.

A tail opening or slit 60 can be formed on the tail part of the lower covering 12 for the purpose of keeping air pressure in the coverings 10 and 12 at a desired value, by releasing excess pressure from the opening.

The opening 60 is covered by a flexible cover 62, if desired.

A hand hold 64 may be provided for the driver or drivers, as shown in FIG. 3.

The craft mentioned above is designed to have its center of gravity located rearwardly from its geometrical center.

In driving the craft on land or water, blower 18 is operated initially by engine 20 for filling air into the upper and lower coverings 10 and 12 through the front inlet opening 22, establishing air pressure in the coverings, inflating the lower covering into an approximately semicircular channel, and floating the front part of the craft above the land or water surface by directing air against the surface through the central opening 14, while maintaining the rear part of the craft in contact with the surface.

Engine 20 is cooled by the air blown into the craft.

When the rotor 26 is driven by the engine 24, the craft will be propelled on the ground by the wheel 36, or on the water by the impellers 38, 38' in the floated state of the front part of the craft.

In the drawings, reference numeral 66 designates a clutch operating lever, and 68 designates a throttle adjusting rod.

Upper covering 10 may also be formed into a molded casing of plastic material.

The craft of the present invention can be driven over land or water at a speed of about 40-60 km./hour.

Although the invention has been described in detail in its preferred form, it is understood that the present dis- 4 closure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A partially floating amphibious craft comprising:

(a) a frame-work for the craft;

(b) an upper airtight covering for said frame-work and having thereon a drivers seat;

(0) a lower peripheral airtight covering connected to said upper covering, inflatable into an air-filled channel and having a central bottom opening;

(d) an engine-driven blower mounted on the front part of said frame-work for directing an air injection stream towards said central bottom opening; and

(e) an engine-driven rotor mounted on the rear part of said frame-work and having a Wheel and two impellers.

2. A partially floating amphibious craft, according to claim 1, in which said upper and lower airtight coverings are made of sheets of plastic material.

3. A partially floating amphibious craft, according to claim 1, in which said upper airtight covering is made of a molded casing of plastic material.

4. A partially floating amphibious craft, according to claim 1, in which said upper covering has an air inlet opening in its front part, and an engine-driven blower positioned in said front part of the upper covering is secured on said frame-work so as to be inclined towards said central bottom opening.

5. A partially floating amphibious craft, according to claim 1, in which said engine-driven rotor has a central wheel and two impellers and is mounted on the rear part of said frame-work.

6. A partially floating amphibious craft, according to claim 5, in which said rotor is supported between the lower ends of a pair of holding arms, and is urged downwardly by an urging device comprising a fixed cylinder, a piston and a spring.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,432,107 12/1947 Williams l151 ANDREW H. FARRELL, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 1l467 

